On Thursday, October 24, Edith Stock, Karen Garrett, Allison Mary and Cheryl Pelletier took the opportunity to attend Campaign School. And, we had absolutely no idea the treat that was in store for us. Holly Robichaud, a seasoned campaign manager with more than 23 years of election experience regaled seventy-plus attendees with stories and details pertaining to managing a successful campaign. Our group of ladies learned that there is so much more to managing a campaign and winning an election than you can ever imagine!

Taking Care of Business

The AzNRW conference began on the morning of Friday, October 25. More than one hundred and forty ladies from clubs all over our state convened at the General Session to take care of business, including the important task of electing new AzFRW board members.

While a slate of officers had been selected and approved earlier this year by the AzFRW Nominating Committee, not all candidates were elected that morning. This is because there were nominations from the floor. Because of this, two of our very own members, Joan Lang, PVRW president, and candidate for AzFRW’s 2nd Vice President, Membership, and Anita Rodriguez, candidate to retain her position as Region VIII Director, found themselves in head-to-head, competitive elections.

A Real Nail Biter!

Elections for contested positions took place Saturday morning. And believe it or not, for Anita and Joan the initial vote count had them both TIED with their opponents. A re-vote for each position was required—and the re-votes broke the ties. Joan beat Mary Baumbach (Ahwatukee RW) by several votes (talking about a divided electorate!). For Anita, we are so very disappointed to report that she lost to Lori Urban (Paradise RW) BY ONE VOTE. We are so sorry Anita!

We’ve got a terrific line up for our annual Christmas program. First up will be the Ignite Barbershop Quartet. Ignite began singing together after a quartet matching party in November 2015. They are all Champion members of Region 21’s Scottsdale Chorus and they will be singing for us!

After lunch, Congressional District 6 congressman, Representative David Schweikart, will talk to us about what’s happening in Washington DC, and provide us with a status of the Tax Bill working its way through the House of Representatives and Senate.

Finally, member Julia Graham will install our new 2018/2019 officers. We look forward to seeing you and be sure to bring a friend or two or three!